US Central Command said Monday that a Houthi anti-ship ballistic missile hit a US-owned cargo ship, an escalation that came a few days after the US and Britain bombed dozens of Houthi targets in Yemen.
The missile struck the Gibraltar Eagle, a Marshall Islands-flagged ship that’s owned by the US-based Eagle Bulk Shipping, while it was transiting the Gulf of Aden. CENTCOM said there were no casualties or damage reported.
Eagle Bulk said there was “limited damage” but that the ship was able to leave the area. “As a result of the impact, the vessel suffered limited damage to a cargo hold but is stable and is heading out of the area,” the company said.
The Houthis later took responsibility for the attack. “The naval forces of the Yemeni Armed Forces carried out a military operation targeting an American ship in the Gulf of Aden, with several appropriate naval missiles, resulting in precise and direct hits,” said Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea.
Before Monday, the Houthis had not targeted US commercial shipping and said their attacks were limited to Israel-linked vessels. But that changed after the US and UK escalated the situation by bombing Yemen on Friday. After the strikes, a Houthi spokesman said that “all American-British interests have become legitimate targets.”
The Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah, have made clear their attacks on Israel-linked shipping wouldn’t stop until the Israeli onslaught in Gaza ends. Instead of pressuring Israel to end the slaughter, President Biden opted for regional escalation. US officials acknowledged that the bombing did not harm the Houthis’ ability to launch offensive attacks.
The US and British airstrikes risk shattering the fragile truce between the US-backed Saudi-led coalition in Yemen and the Houthis, although Saudi Arabia has distanced itself from the anti-Houthi operations and is urging the US to show restraint.
The US-backed war on the Houthis killed 377,000 people between 2015 and 2022, according to the UN. More than half died of starvation and disease caused by the brutal siege, which involved a major bombing campaign and a blockade on Houthi-controlled Yemen, where about 70%-80% of Yemenis live.
Oh, no … you mean, Bidey’s show of force didn’t end their nefarious doings? Man, no one could see that coming …
Well, It would cost about $20 million to replace the Gibraltar Eagle. If you ran an insurance company, would you be willing to insure a ship traveling through the Red Sea? If you owned a ship worth that much, would you sail it through the Red Sea without insurance?
Ansar Allah has made it’s demands known. All Biden needs to do is to make a phone call to Netanyahu insisting that the use of American made weapons in Gaza be stopped. But pride goes before the fall. I’m betting he will handle this by doubling down. I’m also betting that doubling down will lead to further attacks.
Biden is addicted to violence. He cannot and will not stop indulging in creating and acting upon conflict wherever he sees an opportunity.
“If you ran an insurance company, would you be willing to insure a ship traveling through the Red Sea?”
I have, many times in my life, posed that insurance companies are the greatest quite-legal scam on the face of the earth. They take in as much money as possible, and strive to pay out as little of that money as possible.
I relate insurance companies to casinos. Except that, when your “number comes up” at a casino, the casino actually pays you what you’re owed.
Biden has no balls to do this before an election. His love of power far exceeds his love of peace.
Biden sees himself as a great War President.
we don’t know what Biden sees himself as.
maybe he has a zionist gun to his head like every other US politico has always had. i’m not saying that you are wrong, just that none of us know what has always seemed to gone on behind the scenes.
think about it; if the entire Bush cartel’s uncle sam bent over backwards for Israel, then there is obviously something bigger than Biden’s uncle sam at play.
War Inc has found a new playground, and they couldn’t be happier..
Yes, a playground brought to you by Houthis, if you ever want to get bombed, attack commercial ships while ignoring warnings.
To be really technical, I’d say the Houthenese committed an act of war against the Marshall Islands.
sounds dangerous but do we have details on these “ballistic missiles”
I expect we are talking some kind of souped up RPG as the ship took minimal damage. An annoyance more than a danger. They could have used a Silkworm which would present an actual danger to the ship.
“The Houthis were previously not targeting American commercial shipping but that’s changed since the US bombed Yemen”
That’s because those idiots cannot distinguish. Didn’t they recently accidentally target a Russian and Iranian ships (or carrying goods from those countries)?
Yes, Dave, and now they will get even more bombs their way, in the name of peace, of course.
Way to go Houthis, you asked for it!!!
China shipping-port COSCO halts its dealings with Israel due to Israel’s war on Gaza
https://www.ynetnews.com/business/article/r1wxe0gkp